Communications
Today
Cleantech
BBVA and Malta Inc. sign agreement to advance collaboration on energy storage project in Iberia
BBVA and Malta Inc. (“Malta”), a pioneering company in electro-thermal long-duration energy storage solutions, whose corporate goals align with the advancement of decarbonization using innovative cleantech, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This agreement lays the groundwork for a strategic partnership aimed at developing innovative financial solutions to support the deployment in the Iberian Peninsula of Malta’s first-of-a-kind (FOAK) energy storage project. It´s a pioneering cleantech collaboration announced at Breakthrough Energy Summit in London
21 Jun 2024
Science and technology
The BBVA Frontiers Awards recognize the value of knowledge to tackle the challenges of our time
The President of the BBVA Foundation, Carlos Torres Vila, championed the power of knowledge during the ceremony for the 16th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards. Knowledge is the key to solving the problems we are experiencing as a society, at a moment when humanity is going through an unprecedented wave of disruption and faces the challenges of climate change, he said.
20 Jun 2024
Cleantech
Javier Rodríguez Soler: “BBVA is a great ally for Spanish companies as they take on their sustainable transition and international expansion”
“BBVA is a great ally for Spanish companies as they take on their sustainable transition and international expansion,” remarked Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA. His presentation was part of the 41st Seminar organized by Spanish financial press association APIE and titled ‘The role of businesses in the new economy’, being held in Santander. “At BBVA, we support and accompany our clients, and not only multinational firms, but also those companies that need more specific advice to help them continue to grow,” he said.
Banking
EIB Group and BBVA unlock €800 million to support energy transition and Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises
The EIB Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) has invested €377 million in the ¨BBVA Consumer 2024-1¨ securitisation fund. This investment will enable BBVA to channel nearly €800 million into the real economy to finance energy efficiency projects and new mortgages for highly energy-efficient homes. The operation also includes financing for projects to boost the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Spain.
19 Jun 2024
BBVA has completed the sale of a portfolio of unsecured non-performing loans valued at approximately €270 million. This transaction is expected to positively impact the bank's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in Spain, which was 4.11 percent at the close of the first quarter of 2024.
13 Jun 2024
Corporate information
Carlos Torres Vila (BBVA): “We have great confidence in Türkiye’s long-term potential”
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez; the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; and Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA and Co-Chairman of the Spanish-Turkish Business Council, opened the Spain -Türkiye Business Meeting, which was held on Thursday at Ciudad BBVA in Madrid.
11 Jun 2024
Blockchain
Garanti BBVA Digital Assets now offers crypto custody to all customers on its Garanti BBVA Crypto mobile platform
Garanti BBVA Digital Assets, the first initiative of Garanti BBVA Financial Technologies Inc., is now offering crypto wallet service on its mobile platform. This marks the first time in Turkey that a bank subsidiary has developed and implemented a crypto currencies wallet with its own resources. Garanti BBVA Digital Assets now allows customers to transfer and store bitcoin (BTC), Etherum (ETH) and USD coin (USDC) assets on its mobile platform, Garanti BBVA Crypto.
10 Jun 2024
Video
Corporate information
Carlos Torres Vila tells BBVA shareholders that the transaction with Banco Sabadell represents “clear value creation”
On July 5th, BBVA will hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to approve a capital increase and thus move ahead with the process to purchase Banco Sabadell. BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila spoke to the bank’s shareholders in this video, in which he reminded them that this capital increase will not require them to make any disbursements. Furthermore, he stressed that “the combination of both banks will strengthen our position and scale in the Spanish market, giving us greater efficiency and profitability.” In his message, he emphasized that the operation “represents clear value creation” for the shareholders of BBVA and Sabadell, but also for customers, employees and society as a whole.
05 Jun 2024
The BBVA CEO indicated this Wednesday that creating value is the bank’s main priority and guides the way in which BBVA manages its business. At an investors conference organized by Goldman Sachs in Madrid, Onur Genç said that BBVA’s commitment to optimal capital allocation is what distinguishes the bank from its peers in the markets where it operates.
04 Jun 2024
BBVA tapped the market today with a euro-denominated contingent convertible (known as a CoCo or AT1) bond, attracting demand of €3.5 billion. The issue price was set at 6.875 percent, well below the 7.375 percent starting price.
03 Jun 2024
BBVA has received the 'Alcance 3.0' award for the 'Best Comprehensive Scope 3 Emissions Reduction Strategy'. This award, presented by the CPOnet Group, recognizes the efforts of organizations that help reduce emissions in their value chain: suppliers, customers, employees, partners, shareholders and society.
30 May 2024
BBVA Sustainability Projects
BBVA publishes intermediate emission reduction targets for the real estate and aluminum sectors
BBVA is expanding its intermediate emission reduction targets for 2030 to two new sectors: the real estate sector in Spain and the global aluminum industry. They join the list of targets for eight emission-intensive sectors previously set by the bank (oil & gas; power generation; automobile; steel; cement; coal; aviation and shipping).
BBVA's decarbonization targets: What do they mean and what is their scope?
29 May 2024
BBVA tapped the market this Wednesday with a €1.75 billion senior preferred debt issue, structured in two tranches. Demand was double the final placement, with orders reaching €3.5 billion. The first tranche, with a three-year maturity (June 2027), closed at a rate of three-month Euribor +45 basis points (versus an initial price of three-month Euribor +70 to 75 basis points). The second tranche, with a six-year maturity (June 2030), closed at the mid-swap rate + 75 basis points, versus an initial price of mid-swap + 100 basis points.
27 May 2024
Financial and economic wellness
Social media and the economy: what Generation Z talks about when they talk about money
Social media is shaping the financial behaviors of what is known as Generation Z, those born between the mid-1990s and the 2010s. New trends are becoming popular to the rhythm of TikTok. The latest philosophy adapts to the current financial uncertainty, and brings new terms we need to learn to know what young people are talking about when they talk about money.
22 May 2024
Artificial Intelligence
BBVA steps up its plans in artificial intelligence by signing an agreement with OpenAI
After years at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI)-based research and projects, BBVA has taken another big step forward in the use of generative AI in its main markets. Not only has it prioritized around 100 projects to be developed with various tools that employ this new technology, it has also signed a strategic agreement with OpenAI —the creator of ChatGPT— to start deploying this cutting-edge tool among its employees. The aim is to explore, in a safe and responsible way, how generative AI can expedite processes, improve productivity and foster innovation thanks to its abilities to create text and images and process information, among other features.
17 May 2024
Cleantech
Javier Rodríguez Soler: "We are increasing our business in key sectors while reducing their emissions"
“In recent years, we have been increasing our business in key sectors while reducing their emissions,” said the Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA, Javier Rodríguez Soler. “We set decarbonization targets for eight key sectors and are reducing the absolute and relative emissions of these sectors. And we are doing so while increasing our financing business with these clients,” he stated at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) European Summit in Paris.
14 May 2024
Digital channels have become the main way banks interact with their customers, both to check information and to carry out any kind of transaction. In this context, biometrics are gaining ground as they are a safe way to verify that customers are who they say they are. “At BBVA, there are over 40 use cases on a group level in which customer identity must be identified by biometrics, one of the most secure ways to prevent fraud,” said Natalia Ortega, Global Head of Financial Crime Prevention at BBVA.
09 May 2024
BBVA’s Board of Directors is presenting an offer to Banco Sabadell shareholders so they can benefit from an exceptionally favorable proposal. The deal offers one BBVA share for every 4.83 of Sabadell, representing a 30 percent premium over the closing price of both banks on April 29th, and a 50 percent premium over the weighted average prices of the past three months. The transaction has very positive financial impacts thanks to relevant synergies and the complementarity and excellence of both banks. The operation will create one of the best banks in Europe, with a loan market share close to 22 percent in Spain. Furthermore, BBVA will maintain its current shareholders distribution policy and its commitment to distribute any excess capital above 12 percent.
06 May 2024
Innovation
BBVA participates in proof of concept to streamline ‘request to pay’ processes across Europe
Payments infrastructure company EBA CLEARING successfully completed the first pan-European proof of concept for the R2P (Request To Pay) service. This digital messaging service is designed to streamline collection processes and can help boost instant transfers and electronic billing in the region. BBVA and seven other multinational payment service providers took part in the trial. They proved capable of exchanging payment requests in milliseconds.
30 Apr 2024
Commitment
BBVA mobilizes €20 billion in sustainable business in the first quarter of 2024 (+41 percent)
BBVA mobilized €20 billion in sustainable business in the first quarter of 2024, up 41 percent on the same period last year. The bank is now ahead of the curve in achieving its goal of mobilizing €300 billion between 2018 and 2025, having already reached €226 billion. Of this figure, 77 percent will go toward combating climate change and 23 percent to promoting inclusive growth.
29 Apr 2024
Video
The BBVA Group started 2024 with very positive results: Net attributable profit reached €2.2 billion in the first quarter, up 19 percent from a year earlier (+38 percent at constant exchange rates). Earnings per share rose at an even higher pace, 23 percent yoy. These figures are the result of bolstering activity -lending grew 9.5 percent yoy in constant euros- and the outstanding performance of recurring income, which increased 19 percent yoy (+27 percent in constant euros). Additionally, between January and March, BBVA added 2.8 million new customers, 67 percent of them digitally; and channeled €20 billion in sustainable business.
25 Apr 2024
Clean technologies, also known as 'cleantech', are technologies that contribute to sustainability and care for the environment. This includes emissions reduction, biodiversity protection and water treatment.
22 Apr 2024
Cybersecurity
BBVA joins the international alliance to shield financial systems against quantum cybercrime
BBVA is a founding member of the Quantum Safe Financial Forum (QSFF), a safe space for collaboration between European and US financial firms promoted by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3). The alliance aims to foster the creation of new technological systems within the financial industry that are safe, secure and resilient to malicious attacks that rely on quantum computing.
19 Apr 2024
Artificial Intelligence
Global Finance honors BBVA’s innovations in cryptoassets and artificial intelligence
The international publication has granted two ‘Innovators Awards’ to BBVA for its crypto asset service in Switzerland and for an automated process the bank has developed to guide the creation and application of machine learning models for the early detection and management of debt.
17 Apr 2024
Commitment
BBVA delivers training in sustainability to more than 400 suppliers and SME clients across 13 countries
Once again, BBVA has been busy promoting sustainability training among 418 of its suppliers and SME customers across 13 countries in which it operates. A total of 552 people will soon be taking part in the UN Global Compact Sustainable Suppliers Training Programme, of whom 59% (326) are women.
15 Apr 2024
Financial and commercial services
Carlos Torres Vila opens the BBVA Global Wealth Advisors office in Miami
Last Friday, the Chair of BBVA formally opened the new Miami office of BBVA Global Wealth Advisors (GWA), BBVA’s U.S. registered investment advisory unit. Carlos Torres Vila met with the team at this new office, comprised of over 30 professionals.
12 Apr 2024
Cleantech
Antonio Bravo: “BBVA is committed to financing cleantech to facilitate its growth on an industrial scale”
“Decarbonization is a technological revolution that requires innovation and financing. Its scope is global and it will affect all industries and sectors,” said Antonio Bravo, Global Head of Sustainability Strategy and CIB at BBVA. In the framework of the Energy Tech Summit, which ended yesterday in Bilbao, Bravo emphasized “the key role” of financing new clean technologies. “BBVA is committed to financing cleantech to facilitate its growth on an industrial scale,” he stressed.
10 Apr 2024
Entrepreneurship & Startups
BBVA Spark grants €4 million loan to fund Exoticca's expansion into Latin America
Exoticca, a leading company in the digitization of big-ticket travel, has announced the signing of a €4 million finance agreement with BBVA Spark. This loan agreement will facilitate the company's expansion in Latin America. The financing is supported by the European Union and the European Investment Fund under the InvestEU Fund program.
09 Apr 2024
BBVA is sponsoring the Energy Tech Summit, Europe's largest conference on innovation and investment in climate technologies and cleantech. More than 1,000 attendees from 40 countries including startups, investors, companies and government representatives will participate on April 10 and 11 in this event to be held at the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao. The forum aims to connect and amplify the impact of new cleantech technologies in the fight against climate change.
08 Apr 2024
Communication
BBVA to pay a final dividend of 39 euro cents per share this Wednesday, 26 percent more than in 2023
BBVA shareholders will receive a gross cash dividend of 39 euro cents per share this Wednesday, 26 percent more than in April of last year. This dividend comes on top of the 16 cents per share paid in October as an interim dividend charged to 2023 earnings and the €781 million share buyback initiated on March 4, 2024.
07 Apr 2024
Audio
In the fifth chapter of BBVA Greenfluencers we share with you the experience of the international fund/asset manager Amundi, which began its journey towards sustainability years ago, convinced that ESG criteria would be the future of finance. Meet Yerlan Syzdykov, Global Head of Emerging Markets at Amundi Asset Management, who explains how Amundi assesses the ESG risks and opportunities emerging in Latin America.
01 Apr 2024
BBVA contributed a record €7,668 million in own taxes in 2023 across all the countries in which it operates. A further €5,950 million was also collected from third parties, making a grand total of €13,618 million in taxes, the highest tax contribution ever recorded by the bank. In Spain alone, BBVA paid a total of €1,191 million in its own taxes. With third-party taxes included, the bank contributed €3,384 million to the public treasury. This effort reflects BBVA's commitment to the social and economic well-being of the countries within its footprint and its strong support for local economies.
27 Mar 2024
BBVA has received the new Single Resolution Board’s MREL regulatory requirement, which establishes the buffer the bank must maintain to absorb losses. Starting today, the bank’s own funds and eligible liabilities must represent 22.79 percent of the total of risk weighted assets of its European resolution group (which includes the holding, BBVA S. A. and its subsidiaries in Europe). BBVA already meets this requirement.
BBVA received the Gallup Award for one of the world’s top workplaces. This marks the third time the financial institution has received this global recognition.
Advisory
BBVA Global Wealth Advisors collaborates with BNY Mellon’s Pershing to provide brokerage services to its clients
BBVA Global Wealth Advisors, Inc. (BBVA GWA), the U.S. subsidiary and registered investment advisor (RIA) of Madrid-based BBVA, has selected BNY Mellon's Pershing as its clearing and custody provider. BBVA GWA’s advisory clients will access broker-dealer services from Pershing Advisor Solutions (PAS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNY Mellon. PAS is an SEC-registered broker-dealer, member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA), and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
In 2023, 96 percent of power consumption at BBVA Group facilities came from renewable sources, well above the 70 percent target set for 2025. In Spain, Portugal, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru and Türkiye, 100 percent of the bank’s power usage comes from clean energy sources.
25 Mar 2024
BBVA ‘Aprendemos juntos 2030’ is debuting the second season of ‘Desafios’ (Challenges), the program in which Generation Z talks about its challenges. In the seven years since it was launched, the global project has surpassed three billion views and has over eight million followers.
21 Mar 2024
The BBVA Foundation and Salt, a non-profit cultural institution founded by Garanti BBVA, are joining forces to launch a grant program for Turkish artists, which includes a two-week residency in Spain and the opportunity to show the work produced in Türkiye and Spain.
Audio
Dan Lyons is a New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter and journalist. His books include Shut Up: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World and Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Startup Bubble.
20 Mar 2024
For the fourth consecutive year, on the occasion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), the bank will donate €300,000 to social non-profits active in four areas related to the environment and inclusive growth. Asociación Talismán, Fundación Emet, Asociación Puente de Esperanza Madrid and Fundación Madre Coraje were the chosen candidates 2024.
In the past two years, BBVA added 7,187 professionals in the data and technology field to its workforce - a figure it plans to increase in 2024 with 2,700 new hires. Of this amount, 1,225 will take place in Spain for the bank’s headquarters in Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona. Technology talent has become a key aspect of the Group’s digital strategy.
19 Mar 2024
Audio
Philippa Perry trained as a psychotherapist and has been working in the field of mental health for over 20 years. In 2010, she published a graphic novel, Couch Fiction, which depicts the process of psychotherapy.
15 Mar 2024
BBVA shareholders largely backed the items on the agenda, which were subject to vote at the Annual General Meeting held on Friday. The bank’s corporate management received 98.2 percent of the votes. The AGM’s quorum stood at 71 percent, the highest in the bank’s history.
Debt issuance
BBVA issues a €1 billion senior preferred green bond, with demand exceeding three times the initial offer
BBVA tapped the market Friday with a €1 billion seven-year green senior preferred bond, maturing in March 2031. Demand exceeded more than three times the initial offer, reaching €3.3 billion. The final price was set at mid-swap plus 90 basis points, significantly below the initial pricing (mid-swap plus 120 bp). Bookrunners were BBVA, Commerzbank, HSBC, Natixis and UBS.
Video
Corporate information
Carlos Torres Vila: “BBVA’s ability to combine growth and profitability sets us apart from our competitors”
Carlos Torres Vila, Chair
- Impact on society: “In 2023, we increased our positive impact on all countries where we operate”.
- Shareholder distributions: “We are proposing to the AGM the distribution of more than €4 billion, 50 percent of the annual net attributable profit”.
- Future outlook: “In 2024, we will continue to grow profitably, creating opportunities for everyone”.
Onur Genç, CEO
- Earnings: “Our performance puts us at the top of the European banking industry in activity growth, profitability and efficiency”.
- Customer-focused: “We will continue focusing on our strategy based on innovation and digitization, which will allow us to offer a better service to our customers”.
- Team: “The excellent earnings we are presenting are the result of the work of more than 120,000 employees who are part of BBVA”.
In 2023, BBVA had great achievements financially and also in terms of value creation for all of its stakeholders. “BBVA’s ability to combine growth and profitability sets us apart from our competitors,” said Chair Carlos Torres Vila at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held Friday in Bilbao, in northern Spain. During his speech, he predicted that following a record year for BBVA in profit and impact on society, “2024 will be even better.”
14 Mar 2024
Investment management
BBVA opens an investment advisory office in Miami to serve high net worth Latin American clients
The BBVA Group has established a new entity, BBVA Global Wealth Advisors, Inc., in Miami, Florida (USA), with the aim of serving high net-worth Latin American clients. BBVA Global Wealth Advisors joins the international wealth management service that BBVA already offers in Switzerland and Spain.
11 Mar 2024
Corporate finance
Luisa Gómez Bravo: “BBVA’s ability to combine profitability and growth is unique in the European banking sector"
Luisa Gómez Bravo has been CFO of the Group since September 2023. She recognizes that the first few months in her new role have been very intense. After all, the Finance unit is responsible for the Group’s financial planning and monitoring, for capital, for managing liquidity and structural balance sheet risks, for relations with the Group’s investors and shareholders, and many other functions. After a historic 2023 in financial terms, Gómez Bravo predicts that 2024 will be another great year for BBVA. This will be possible, she maintains, thanks to the Group’s structural strengths: leading franchises in high growth markets and a strategic focus based on the opportunities provided by innovation, digitization and sustainability. And these focal points have been the main drivers of the bank’s growth. “BBVA’s ability to combine profitability and growth is unique in the European banking sector and it sets us apart from our competitors,” she stressed.
08 Mar 2024
BBVA Sustainability Projects
BBVA makes headway toward its decarbonization targets in key industries and cuts its emissions by 24 percent in the oil and gas sector
BBVA closed 2023 reporting good progress in decarbonizing its credit portfolio. Improvements in plan delivery reached 24 percent in key sectors —such as oil and gas— for which 2030 targets were set. As of December 2023, 80% of the finance portfolio in high-emission sectors relates to clients actively managing their transition, according to the latest TCFD report published by the bank.
07 Mar 2024
Innovation
BBVA and Cisco Strengthen its Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Digital Transformation and Foster Innovation
The global financial services group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) signs a Strategic Whole Portfolio Agreement with Cisco. The agreement gives BBVA access to Cisco’s full software portfolio, world-class technology and Customer Experience (CX) services, supporting the bank’s digitization journey. Five-year agreement enables BBVA to integrate continuous innovation into daily operations, enhancing speed, agility, and offering the latest in digital financial services.
06 Mar 2024
Climate change
Garanti BBVA launches a series of documentaries addressing the effects of climate change
SALT, Garanti BBVA’s cultural organization, is presenting ‘Is this Our Last Chance?’, a series of documentaries on the effects of climate change. It will be running at the walk-in cinema in SALT’s Beyoğlu facilities and can also be watched online at saltonline.org between February 29 and March 24.
05 Mar 2024
BBVA Technology, created by the bank in late 2023, makes the leap to Latin America. The new tech division will be headquartered in Mexico, under the brand name ‘BBVA Technology en América.’
Corporate information
BBVA places $2 billion in a senior debt issue in two tranches with three times the demand
This Tuesday, BBVA placed US$2 billion in a senior debt issue structured in two tranches: a five-year senior 'preferred' bond and an 11-year senior 'non-preferred' bond. 1,000 million dollars have been placed in each tranche, thanks to a very high demand, which has reached 6,500 million dollars, thus tripling the final amount placed. The closing price in both sections has been very competitive. The senior preferred bond has closed at T+125 basis points (compared to an initial price of T+150 basis points), while that of the 'non-preferred' senior has been fixed at T+190 basis points, below the T+215 basis points of departure.
Video
A strong performance in 2023 and forward strides in strategy driven by digitization, innovation and sustainability enabled BBVA to continue to play a key role in the transformation of the economy and create opportunities for all its stakeholders: customers, shareholders, employees and wider society.
04 Mar 2024
Video
Corporate information
Carlos Torres Vila underscores BBVA’s contribution to economic and social development in a video for shareholders
BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila speaks to the bank’s shareholders in this video commemorating the upcoming Annual General Meeting in Bilbao. In his message, he emphasizes BBVA’s growth in 2023 - in terms of customers, business, results and profitability. This growth has made it possible for the bank to increase its positive impact, and to continue creating opportunities for all of its stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole. Furthermore, he stressed BBVA’s total distributions to shareholders, which surpassed €4 billion in 2023, or half of the bank’s earnings from the year. The BBVA Chair expects 2024 to be another great year for the bank, combining growth and profitability.
01 Mar 2024
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) filed on March 1, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission BBVA´s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The Annual Report can be found on BBVA’s Investor Relations website http://shareholdersandinvestors.bbva.com in the section dedicated to Financial information 2023.
Cleantech
3rd BBVA Sustainability Forum: Private investment in clean technologies will boost the global sustainable agenda
New clean technologies, or 'cleantech,' will play a key role in the decarbonization of the economy. To make this possible, however, the private sector must make a firm commitment to the sustainable agenda, leading to decisive, long-term investment in firms that develop clean technologies. These were the points emphasized by speakers at the 3rd BBVA Sustainability Forum, which the bank held in the auditorium of Ciudad BBVA, Madrid, Spain, with a livestream feed. 'Opportunity' was a key word in almost every speech.
BBVA is to start on Monday, March 4th, a new share buyback program for €781 million, having received the necessary clearance from the European Central Bank. The buyback is part of shareholders’ regular distributions for 2023. In total, BBVA will distribute €4.01 billion (50 percent of the net attributable profit from last year) to its shareholders, including the dividend and this share buyback program.
Türkiye’s 17th Women Entrepreneur Awards, organized by Garanti BBVA alongside ‘The Ekonomist’ and the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye (KAGIDER) was recently held on February 27, 2024.
29 Feb 2024
BBVA widens its sustainable business with a global finance unit that will focus on cleantech innovation, announced BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila at the 3rd BBVA Sustainability Forum, held Thursday at the bank's headquarters in Madrid. The specialized team, based in New York, London and Madrid, will offer lending and advisory services.
28 Feb 2024
Frontiers of knowledge
The BBVA Foundation honors Partha Dasgupta, a pioneer in environmental economics
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards in Economics, Finance and Management has gone to Partha Dasgupta (University of Cambridge) for his work on the interaction between economic life and the natural environment. This research gave rise to environmental economics and “provided a framework for green accounting which is now widely adopted for measuring sustainable development,” the award committee noted.
26 Feb 2024
Garanti BBVA continues to make its clients' lives easier with its digital products and services. The bank’s commercial banking clients are now able to apply for credit limits for loans online - without having to set foot in a branch thanks to Garanti BBVA's "Commercial Credit Limit Application".
23 Feb 2024
The future of the banking industry is shaped by technology and Garanti BBVA is working hard to design the banking model of the future. Garanti BBVA Technology is the bank’s latest and most disruptive initiative yet so it can continue to lead digital banking in Türkiye.
Corporate information
Garanti BBVA issues $500 million Tier 2 subordinated debt, with record demand from investors
BBVA’s Turkish unit has successfully issued a $500 million 10-year bond, with a coupon rate of 8.375 percent. The 10-year Tier 2 subordinated debt has a call option on the fifth year.
The financial institution had 34.7 percent women in leadership positions in 2023, with promotions of women surpassing those of men in all countries where the bank has a presence. BBVA has announced a new target for the next two years, aiming to reach 36.8 percent female managers.
Video
BBVA Sustainability Projects
Javier Rodríguez Soler: “There are already some decarbonization technologies that work and are profitable”
“By definition, companies need to push profits. The good news is that there are already some technologies that work and are profitable”, remarks Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA. In a recent interview with Brendan Wallace, CEO of Fifth Wall, Rodríguez Soler explains BBVA’s commitment to investing in companies that research and develop sustainable technologies that champion the decarbonization of the economy.
22 Feb 2024
Entrepreneurship & Startups
BBVA co-hosts the largest European conference on entrepreneurship and climate venture capital in Bilbao
The bank is sponsoring the fifth edition of the Energy Tech Summit, which will be held in Bilbao for the first time on April 10th and 11th, 2024.
21 Feb 2024
Financial and economic wellness
Garanti BBVA hosts students from its social and financial leadership program ‘5 Pebbles’
Students from the ‘5 Pebbles’ program visited 21 Garanti BBVA branches across Türkiye to learn firsthand about the different transactions that take place at banks. Garanti BBVA is a founding member of the Teachers Academy Foundation (ÖRAV) and has been collaborating with them to run this program since 2016.
19 Feb 2024
BBVA’s Turkish unit is launching another pioneering solution, the Bonus Platinum Biometric Card, allowing users to make payments in a secure manner by simply scanning their fingerprint. The innovative new card will be available shortly.
15 Feb 2024
The Turkish central bank recently granted Garanti BBVA an operating license for its new subsidiary, Garanti Payment and Electronic Money Service, Inc., effective February 15, 2024. The innovative new company will begin offering a selected group of customers a beta version of its digital payment solutions under the TAMİ brand in March.
Garanti BBVA CEO Recep Baştuğ has secured the top spot among finance executives and seventh place overall in the latest annual "Türkiye’s Sustainability Leaders" ranking, published by the Turkish franchise of leading business magazine Fast Company.
14 Feb 2024
Frontiers of knowledge
Frontiers Award to Voisin and Eliashberg for breaking down barriers in geometry
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences has gone to Claire Voisin (National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS, France) and Yakov Eliashberg (Stanford University, United States) for driving forward mathematical thought by bridging the space between two key areas of geometry with special relevance to quantum physics.
07 Feb 2024
Frontiers of knowledge
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge award goes to the mathematician who made artificial vision possible for robots
Japanese researcher Takeo Kanade has received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Information and Communication Technologies category for developing the algorithms that underlie the current capabilities of computers and robots in comprehending and interpreting visual images and scenes. His work has enabled key technologies such as self-driving vehicles, robotic surgery and facial recognition systems, and has revolutionized the broadcasting of sports events.
BBVA has been recognized yet another year in the latest edition of S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook. BBVA is among the top 5 percent of the world’s most sustainable banks, according to this ranking published today. The yearbook distinguishes leading sustainability companies in 62 sectors.
06 Feb 2024
Board of directors
BBVA renews its Board with the appointment of Cristina de Parias and Enrique Casanueva
BBVA’s Board of Directors is to propose the appointment of two new members, Cristina de Parias, (as external board member) and Enrique Casanueva (as independent). They both have extensive experience and expertise in banking, having held top positions in financial institutions in key markets for BBVA. Furthermore, the female representation at the Group's Board will now increase from six to seven women, of a total of 15 members (47 percent), while the number of independent members will remain a majority, at 67 percent.
Awards
BBVA wins the IFR 2023 award for the Best European Bond for the issue that reopened the CoCo market
The financial magazine International Financial Review (IFR) presented BBVA the award for the Best European Bond of 2023 for the contingent convertible (CoCo) bond issued in June of last year - the first of this kind following the collapse of Credit Suisse. The publication underscored that the step taken by BBVA was ‘crucial’ to recovering confidence in this debt market.
The CEO of BBVA Group has again claimed the top spot in the bi-annual ‘Global 50 Turkish Leaders’ list by Türkiye’s leading financial magazine Capital. The publication has taken the pulse of the business world and shared valuable insights since 1993.
Climate Action
Sustainable cooling without halocarbons, or how to help billions of people adapt to the coming heat
COP28 has ended and following intense debates and difficult consensus, we have seen considerable progress in the development of sustainable cooling. Refrigeration is not only necessary for the life of numerous households - it is essential for sectors such as food, logistics, digital technology and tourism.
02 Feb 2024
Cleantech for Iberia brings together cleantech companies, investors and policy makers to boost the potential of Spain and Portugal as a clean energy hub in the European Union.
31 Jan 2024
Conservation of biodiversity
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge award goes to Ceballos and Dirzo, for successfully quantifying the scale of the extinction of species brought about by human activity
The research undertaken by Mexican ecologists Gerardo Ceballos (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Rodolfo Dirzo (Stanford University) in Latin America and Africa has shown that the current species extinction rates in many groups of organisms are much higher than throughout the preceding two million years, according to the committee of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology.
Debt issuance
BBVA places a Tier 2 subordinated debt issue worth €1.25 billion, with demand outpacing supply by a factor of five
On Wednesday of this week, BBVA placed €1.25 billion in a 12-year Tier 2 subordinated debt issue, with a call option at seven years. The market response has been excellent, with demand reaching nearly €6 billion, five times the amount ultimately allotted. The price was set at mid swap + 240 basis points, significantly below the starting price (mid swap + 275 basis points).
30 Jan 2024
Video
In 2023 the BBVA Group added 11.1 million new customers and increased lending nearly 8 percent yoy. The bank also channeled €70 billion in sustainable business, exceeding the €200-billion mark since 2018. BBVA posted a record net attributable profit of €8.02 billion in 2023, up 22 percent yoy (+35 percent in constant euros)¹. Recurrent earnings per share rose even more, 27 percent, driven by share buybacks executed in 2023. BBVA will pay a cash dividend €0.55 per share against 2023 earnings², 28 percent more than in 2022, and will launch a new share buyback program for €781 million³. In total, BBVA will distribute more than €4 billion to its shareholders.
¹Recurrent net attributable profit growth, excluding in the comparison the net impact of the purchase of offices from Merlin in Spain in 2022 (€-201 million).
²Of this amount €0.16 per share was paid in October as an interim dividend against 2023 earnings. The additional payment of €0.39 per share is subject to the approval of the governing bodies.
³Pending approval from the governing bodies and subject to mandatory regulatory approval.
Garanti BBVA announced its 2023 earnings. The bank’s net income for the year stood at TL 86.91 billion, total assets reached TL 2.20 trillion and the loan portfolio of cash and non-cash loans was TL 1.61 trillion. Deposits remained the main source of funding, representing 73 percent of the bank’s total assets with TL 1.6 trillion. This represents an increase of 77 percent in 2023. Garanti BBVA’s capital adequacy ratio was 16.5 percent,* return on average equity (ROAE) was 44.5 percent and return on average assets (ROAA) was 4.9 percent.
25 Jan 2024
Digital banking
‘Request Payment’, the new way to request and send money, now available via Garanti BBVA Mobile Banking
Following the efforts made by the Interbank Card Center (BKM) in Türkiye to simplify payments among individual and self-employed customers, Garanti BBVA has now launched the ‘Request Payment’ feature via its mobile and online banking services.
24 Jan 2024
Frontiers of knowledge
BBVA Foundation awards the discoverers of the biological mechanisms behind protein function and their role in the origin of multiple diseases
Ulrich Hartl, Arthur Horwich, Kazutoshi Mori and Peter Walter receive the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine for having successfully identified the cellular machinery that drives protein folding, an key process enabling them to fulfill their biological function. Their research, which disproved the findings of Nobel laureate Christian Anfinsen, has opened the door to the development of new experimental treatments for cancer and certain neurodegenerative diseases.
Garanti BBVA
Garanti BBVA hosts its fourth 'Sustainable Future in Exports' meeting in Bursa, Türkiye
As part of its strategic commitment to sustainability and inclusive growth, Garanti BBVA continues to host its series of events around the theme 'Sustainable Future in Exports.' The fourth installment of the series—previously held in Istanbul, Gaziantep, and İzmir—unfolded this year in Bursa.
BBVA’s app is the main channel customers use to contact the bank. Over 75 percent of customers around the world use the app. With this level of outreach, the current challenge for BBVA entails getting customers to use the new features and do more mobile transactions. To achieve this, the bank has developed a strategy to improve the digital intensity of its customers, with which it has increased interactions on the app by 32 percent in just one year, largely driven by the financial health services.
16 Jan 2024
Carbon Footprint
Carlos Torres Vila at Davos: “We need to involve the end consumer in the energy transition”
BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila today advocated for "involving the end consumer in the energy transition" in order to step up decarbonization. Speaking on a panel at the Davos meeting hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), he called for "coherent and consistent policies" that go beyond the supply side to encourage consumers themselves to contribute to this transition.
15 Jan 2024
Video
Carlos Torres Vila
Carlos Torres Vila: “2024 will be another great year for BBVA, with greater contribution to economic and social progress”
BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila stressed that 2023 was good for the bank in strategic, and financial terms, and especially in terms of its contribution to society. All of this was reflected in the bank’s stock performance, and its attractive distributions to shareholders. He is once again expecting growth in banking activity in 2024 thanks to the Group’s leading franchises and its strategy focused on digitization, innovation and sustainability. Therefore, “2024 will be another great year for BBVA, with greater contribution to social and economic progress,” he said in an interview.
12 Jan 2024
Action and Investment ODS Plan
BID Invest and BBVA to finance the expansion of the Port of Montevideo
The two institutions will provide finance to boost the country's foreign trade through an expansion of the facilities at Uruguay's premier port. The total outlay comes to $340 million.
11 Jan 2024
BBVA Spark, the bank for high-growth companies, has arranged a €15 million 'Venture Debt' facility for Cabify, the Spanish mobility company, which was launched 12 years ago in Madrid and became Spain's first unicorn in 2018. The proceeds will go toward fast-tracking the execution of Cabify's strategic plan, which focuses on boosting sustainable and affordable urban mobility.
10 Jan 2024
Climate change
The BBVA Foundation awards researchers who discovered the link between greenhouse gases and rising global temperatures enclosed within the polar ice
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Climate Change category has gone to five European scientists for their analysis of Antarctic and Greenland ice samples to prove the “fundamental coupling” between greenhouse gas concentrations and rising air temperatures across the planet over the past 800,000 years.
BBVA, together with Bank of America Securities and Citigroup Capital Markets, led Ecopetrol’s new issuance of corporate debt in the U.S. market in the amount of $1.85 billion. This placement consolidates BBVA’s role as one of the top financial institutions in the structuring, placement and sale of corporate bonds.
Garanti BBVA is streamlining the loan approval process for retail customers seeking vehicle finance. Utilizing the Instant Loan from Dealer (BAK) feature, customers can swiftly complete transactions with digital document approval through Garanti BBVA Mobile app, ensuring an efficient and seamless experience.
08 Jan 2024
After beginning the year with a debt issue in Mexico, BBVA returned to the wholesale markets on Monday with a 10-year senior preferred debt issue worth €1.25 billion. The issue is priced at the mid-swap + 135 basis points, significantly below the starting price (mid-swap + 160 basis points).
04 Jan 2024
BBVA is looking to spot and train the best in-house talent in the use of the large language models (LLMs) that are behind the success of the likes of ChatGPT, as it drives the exploration of projects based on generative artificial intelligence. To succeed in this task, it recently organized a DataRally, a competition in which some 440 employees tested their ability in interacting with one of these models. Impressed by the positive feedback received from participants, the bank may now apply the DataRally concept to the generative AI courses it will be running as part of its Data University in-house training program.
28 Dec 2023
More than 650 of the bank's professionals have benefited from international experience in recent years. The initiative provides clear rewards for employees, but also for the bank, since the programs foster corporate culture, train staff in strategic skills and build loyalty among in-house talent.